


Somewhere Over The Rainbow

by awkwardblogger



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abusive John Winchester, Alcoholic John, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Jody Mills, Ben Braeden is Dean Winchester's Son, Bisexual Dean, Childhood Trauma, Cute Kids, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester are Raised Separately, Dean and Mental Health Issues, Disabled Character, Disabled Dean, Dorks in Love, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Gay Sam, Homophobic Language, Hurt Dean Winchester, Idiots in Love, John Winchester Being an Asshole, Kid Fic, M/M, Mary Lives, Meet-Cute, Military Background, Military Homophobia, Minor Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Physical Disability, Single Parent Dean, Single Parents, Teacher Sam, Veteran Dean, Wheelchairs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-05-20 11:59:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6005131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardblogger/pseuds/awkwardblogger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Azazel feeds Sam demon blood Mary finds out and leaves John to kill Azazel before he mess up Sam's life. Sam and Dean grow up separate, Dean raised by John and Sam raised by Mary. Dean grows up in an abusive household while Sam grows up in a loving household. Dean joins the military after dropping out of college with a child on the way and comes home without legs. When the brothers finally meet again, Sam is a teacher at Bakersfield Elementary and Dean is the single father of one of Sam's students.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

November 2nd 1983 changed everything for the Winchester family. As the lights flickered and noise crackled from the baby monitor, Mary’s heart jumped and she remembered the yellow eyed demon.

“In ten years I’m going to visit you and take something, nothing you’ll miss. I promise.”

She ran to Sam’s nursery and saw a figure standing over her son’s crib and her heart clenched. She flattened herself against the wall and realized that the figure was feeding her son blood. She wanted so badly to attack him but she had nothing that could kill a demon and she’d only be endangering her whole family if she jumped out now.

“Good boy. I’ll see you again, kiddo.” A gravelly voice said and then the figure disappeared.

Mary ran to Sammy and scooped up her son who stared at her blankly, and Mary never felt so enraged. The demon did **something** to her son, but she has no idea what. She stroked her son’s cheek, taking a deep breath.

“Sammy, what did that monster do?” Her voice cracked as she held him tight to her chest.

The next day she refused to let go of her youngest son before finally breaking down and calling her only living connection to the hunting world: Bobby Singer.

“He bled in his mouth, Bobby.” She whispered into the phone. “What the hell did he do to my baby?”

“I don’t know Mary, I’ll try to figure it out. I’ll have my contacts look into it. You focus on keeping your family safe.” Bobby told her.

And that’s when it all changed for John, because Mary figured the demon only came because of her.

“You’re leaving me?” John blinked in confusion.

“I’m sorry John, but this just isn’t what I want anymore.” Mary lied.

“What isn’t? Tell me what I’m doing wrong and I’ll fix it, Mary! I swear!” John vowed.

“Don’t you see, John? I don’t want **you** anymore! The feelings I had for you… they’ve fizzled out. The spark isn’t there anymore John and I can’t keep playing this game.” Mary told him.

In truth, her marriage had been falling apart, but up until the demon visit she was determine to make it work. She knew John was cheating, she knew John was developing a drinking problem, but she didn’t want to ruin her family.

“I know I’m not perfect Mary, but I can change! Please don’t leave.” John pleaded.

“I have to, John.” She sighed.

The next week Mary was moving her things out, and that’s when things got complicated.

“You’re not taking my kids from me, Mary!” John shouted, drunk and angry.

“Fuck you, John. You’re drunk.” She hissed, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

“No! You’re not taking my kids, you fucking whore!” He spat, making a grab for Sammy.

Mary moved her son out of her husband’s reach, glaring.

“I’m not leaving my children with a drunken bastard like you!” She snarled.

“I guess I’ll see you in court, then.” John growled.

By the time the judge decided who should have the children, Mary knew what the demon had planned for her son and knew she had to kill the bastard.

“Mr. and Mrs. Winchester-“ Mary cut him off quickly.

“It’s Ms. Campbell now.” She said firmly, earning a glare from John.

“Mr. Winchester and Ms. Campbell, I’ve decided that it would be in the best interest for your sons if Dean Winchester stayed with his father and Samuel Winchester stayed with his mother.” The judge told them.

“No! No, you can’t give Dean to John! He’s a drunk and he’s a workaholic!” Mary shouted.

“Ms. Campbell I’m only going to tell you this once, control yourself.” The judge snapped.

“But-“ Mary was cut off.

“My decision is final.” The judge huffed.

That day was the last time Mary would see Dean, as he was carried away in tears. She drove away from the courthouse with Sammy in the backseat, sleeping soundly as she drove to Bobby’s.

“Mary, what are you gonna do?” Bobby asked as Mary stood in his kitchen with her infant son.

“I’m gonna kill that demon. I won’t let him turn my son into a weapon for the devil.” Mary said firmly, staring at her son.

“And how do you plan to do that?” Bobby demanded.

“The colt.” Mary answered simply.

“Wait, you really think it’s out there?”

“I know it is, and I know who has it.”


	2. Chapter 2

It took Mary five years to get the cult, track down the yellow eyed demon and kill him. By the time she’d finished with that, she knew it was too late to go back and fix things with John and get Dean back, so she decided to devote the rest of her life to being the best mother she could be. John on the other hand, had buried himself in his work and beer to deal with the rejection of Mary leaving.

By the time Dean was nine he as completely self-sufficient. Dean made his own dinner, did his own laundry, cleaned the house, had to remind John to go grocery shopping, made his own lunches, reminded John to pay bills and most of the time Dean would have to force John to sign report cards. Most of Dean’s teachers were surprised by how smart Dean and mature Dean was. Most nine year olds weren’t able to read high school books, understand pre-algebra and didn’t keep to themselves the way Dean did.

It bothered Dean’s teachers; they wondered what things were like at home, why Dean never seemed comfortable with male authority figures, why Dean flinched at yelling and why Dean seemed to know so much about life for such a young kid. From what other people said about their homes, Dean knew his home life wasn’t normal, but he’d read books about kids who had lives like him and told and got put in an even worse home. Things weren’t perfect at Dean’s house, but at least he had school where the teachers liked him and he knew the people; he knew if he was put in the foster care system that wouldn’t be the case.

The year Dean turned ten was the year Dean learned how to perfectly hide bruises. As John’s alcoholism grew, he took his anger out on Dean more often than not. But it wasn’t always anger that was being taken out on Dean, sometimes it was sexual frustration and that was scarier to Dean. Dean was a fighter, even as a child, but no child is a match for a much larger, older and stronger man like John.

Dean tried to block it out but during the night, when the floors would creek and he’d hear John coming to his room, Dean would curl into a ball and close his eyes shut. He tried to think of nice things while it happened, tried to take his mind elsewhere. Sometimes he’d think about the book he was reading in school or the homework he had, but his favorite thing to think about was a big dragon that would come and take him away to a better place.

Sam Campbell lived with his mom and Uncle Bobby in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. When he was younger, his mom had to leave a lot for work, but when Sam was five, it all ended. One day she came home with a giant smile on her face and scooped him up.

“It’s over, Sammy. I’m never gonna leave you again, not for that.” She had told him.

He never did really get what she meant by ‘it’s over’, but she took him for ice cream after that and the words slipped his mind. With his mom home more often, Mary’s job at Singer’s Salvage Yard was finally legit and Sam had new freedoms he’d never dreamed of. He could finally play with the other kids without their parents wondering why the only person with him was a creepy looking gentleman that was too old to be his father.

Mary signed Sam up for soccer team tryouts for a group his age when she learned he loved the sport. When Sam made the team he was treated to cake and ice cream from his mom, after every game she’d bring the team out pizza or tacos. Mary was the soccer mom and the working mom all in one. Sam excelled in school and had lots of friends, he had a great home life and was an all-around happy kid, Mary knew Sam got lucky in that department and on bad days, really bad days, she allowed herself to think about Dean.

When Mary did think about Dean, she cried, a lot. There was no telling what happened to her sweet little boy. John had been a violent wreck when Mary last saw him and she had no idea how that has affected Dean and she probably never will. She wondered if Dean had lots of friends, if he did sports, if he still liked stuffed animals, if he still had his teddy bear from when he was a toddler. She had millions of questions about Dean she wanted answered, but she had Sammy to think about. She was all the kid had and she couldn’t drag him into the past just to rip him away from it. So she forced herself to believe that John adjusted and things got better.

But they didn’t and Dean was the one who suffered from Mary’s choice.

When Dean turned fifteen he already knew that college was out of the question. Despite being in the top 5% of his class Dean couldn’t afford college. John wouldn’t give him money if his life depended on it and Dean knew his chances of getting a scholarship were slim. So, in the end, at age seventeen, Dean decided he would join the military. At that age, the sexual abuse had ended only two years ago and John was ready to get Dean out of the house.

Dean was still a punching bag to his father, but when Dean told John he was looking into the military, the man was excited.

“The military will shape you up, make you a man.” John told him.

Dean graduated high school a semester early and three weeks after graduating left for boot camp.

Bootcamp was horrible. The food sucked, you were treated like shit, you had to do a lot of psychical work, and the verbal assaults were never ending, but Dean had been living like that his whole life. The Marines failed to break Dean and before leaving for his first tour in Afghanistan, Dean was supposed to go home. The only problem, Dean didn’t have a home.

So, Dean found a cheap motel to stay at until it was time for him to leave. He stayed in Indiana for about three weeks and met a beautiful girl named Lisa Braeden. Dean was still struggling to go back into the closest as a bisexual man at the time and was happy to spend time getting to know Lisa. The worst part of Dean’s stay in Indiana was having to leave.

“You’re leaving for Afghanistan?” She gaped at him when he told her.

“Yeah, I am. I’m sorry Lisa, but I really do like you and-“ Lisa cut him off.

“Can I write you while you’re gone?” She demanded.

Dean nodded dumbly and Lisa smiled before giving him a kiss, the first he would ever receive from Lisa.

“Good, then this might just work.” She had hummed.

A week after that, Dean left for Afghanistan. He got letters from Lisa regularly and he always wrote her back as soon as he could.

Back in the United States Sam Campbell was living the life. His life didn’t change much from ages five to fourteen besides puberty. He continued to play soccer and even made the JV team for his high school, Sam and Mary stayed close, Bobby remained a large part of Sam’s life and Sam dominated in academia. Sam had friends and was happy and healthy, that’s all Mary could ask for.

As Sam grew up he started asking questions about his dad. Sam was only seven when the questions became a regular thing.

“What was he like?” Sam asked one night during dinner, only seven and tiny.

“What was who like, Sammy?” Mary questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

“My dad.” Sammy said simply, shrugging.

Mary remembers the panic that surged through her veins. She worried Sam would want to meet him, she worried about what would happen if she mentioned Dean. She was scared, but she collected herself for Sam’s sake.

“He was tall, strong, good at building things and he liked cars a lot.” Mary listed off.

“Mom, does my dad look like me?” Seven year old Sam asked two months later.

“Yes Sammy, he does. You both have dimples and you have his eyes and his hair. You look a lot like him, Sammy.” Mary told him, smoothing out Sam’s messy hair.

“Was my dad smart?” Eight year old Sam asked one day after school.

“He was very smart baby.” Mary hummed.

“In school?” Sam questioned, looking sad.

“No, sweetie. He was more street smart than book smart, but that’s okay.” Mary assured her son.

“Did my dad like dogs?” Eight year old Sam asked during Easter.

“He liked them, but he was allergic to them.” Mary responded.

These questions continued and while they were a sharp reminder of the life Mary left, she handled it. That was, until the day Mary was called into Sam’s school because nine year old Sam got in a fist fight on the playground. Sam and another boy were bloody and angry, sitting up at the principal’s office. They were called in and Mary began assessing the principal to see if he was lying.

“Well, Mrs. Fisher, Ms. Campbell, from what the playground monitor heard and saw it appears Jacob said some pretty mean things to Sam.” Principal Logan began slowly.

Mary narrowed her eyes into slits and demanded to know what the child said.

“What did he say exactly?” Mary demanded, projecting her rage with her eyes.

“He said that I’m a loser and I don’t have a dad because you’re a slut!” Sam blurted out, tears in his eyes.

The whole room exploded in anger. Mary held her son to her side as Mrs. Fisher screeched at Jacob for calling anyone a slut. In the end, Sam got off without penalty and Jacob got three days suspension. Mary took Sam home and made him tea, waiting for him to speak.

“Mom, does my dad know I exist?” Sam whispered.

Her heart had clenched as she nodded.

“Were you married to him?” Sam wondered, his voice breaking.

“Yes.” Mary breathed.

“Is he alive?”

A nod.

“Can I meet him one day?”

“I don’t think so, Sammy.”

“Why not?”

“I left him because he wasn’t doing well Sammy. He drank alcohol too much and got angry a lot. He would scream and break things and didn’t come home most nights. He wasn’t a good man.”

Sam was silent for a while, sipping his tea before asking one last question.

“Did you ever get pregnant besides me, Mom?” Sam asked.

“Why do you ask, Sammy?” She demanded.

“I found a picture of you with a big belly, but it’s from before the year I was born.” Sam admitted.

“Yes Sammy, I was pregnant before you.” Mary sighed.

“Did the baby die?” Sam asked, cocking his head to the side.

“No.” Mary confessed.

“Did you give it up for adoption?”

“No.”

“What happened to it?”

“Your father got custody of him and I got you. I wanted you both, but the judge decided it would be best this way.”

That was the last time Sam asked about his dad or his brother.

Fourteen was a big year for Sam, it was the year he went on his first date. Mary nearly cried when she dropped him off at the bowling alley for his date with Vanessa Meeker. The date was a big deal for Sam in ways he didn’t expect when he left for his date. As the date progressed Sam became painfully aware that he wasn’t interested in touching Vanessa and he didn’t want to kiss her. She kept trying to touch him, to rub up against him and at the very end she tried to kiss his cheek.

Going into the date, Sam knew he wasn’t attracted to her but he knew every other boy in his grade was, so when Vanessa said she wanted to go out with him Sam knew he was supposed to ask her out. For two weeks Sam panicked as he realized he had a crush on a boy in his history class, Noah Turner, and ended up telling his mom in a mess of tears and snot. Mary did cry when Sam told her and fell into her arms, begging her to still love him.

“Oh Sammy, of course I still love you!” Mary cried, tears flowing freely from her eyes. “I don’t care if you’re attracted to boys or girls or anything in-between as long as you’re happy I’m happy.”

When Sam turned fifteen he was the president of his school’s GSA and had singlehandedly built the club from the ground up. He got a teacher to agree and found three other students who were gay or bisexual and two straight students who were allies and had to fight the school board to get the club started when several teachers thought it was inappropriate. Sam also became the only sophomore on the Varsity Soccer Team and was damn proud of it.

Bobby and Mary could be found at every game the team had, cheering on the team. There had been speculation by some of the people in town if Mary and Bobby were a couple because of how close they were an how good Bobby was with Sam. Some of Sam’s friends asked him about it but he just laughed it off because he knew that there was no way his mom would ate Bobby. Not because is ugly or old or that there is anything wrong with Bobby, but they had more of a platonic relationship and Bobby saw Sam as his nephew.  As the years went on, Sam did try to get his mother into dating.

“Oh Sam, that’s sweet but I don’t have time for a relationship.” Mary had dismissed the idea during dinner one night.

“But Mom, you’ve been divorced since I was an infant and you haven’t had a boyfriend in all these years!” Sam pointed it out. “Dating could make you happier, less lonely. I want you to be happy, Mom.”

“I am happy, Sam, and just because I’m not dating doesn’t mean I’m not over my ex-husband. I know you think you’re being stealthy but you aren’t.” Mary caught onto his underlying message right away.

Over in Afghanistan Dean had just returned from leave, where he had spent his leave with Lisa, his girlfriend. The long distance thing was tough, but they managed the best they could. They talked on cellphones whenever Dean had the chance and Lisa answered her phone no matter where she was when Dean called. Since joining the army Dean hasn’t spoken to John Winchester, who without his son’s reminders to take care of things outside of work and getting drunk, now lives at his auto shop. Sometimes it frightened Dean just how well he did in the army. Dean was an infantryman and planned on becoming an infantry officer one day. As a year ticked past, Dean began having trouble seeing himself going to college after he served his four years and be began to think about doing another four when his four were up.

Sometimes dating Lisa had perks Dean hadn’t expected, such as making “don’t ask, don’t tell” less of a problem for him. Dean was dating a woman, so no one speculated that he was bisexual(which he is) or gay. Dean’s faithful, so even though there are some people he would so fuck if given the chance; Dean’s not going to act on it.

Another year passed and Dean was now twenty and still dating Lisa and talking to her every chance he got. Dean had served three years now and he had to start thinking about what he was going to do when his four years were up. Lisa had some pretty strong feelings on the subject.

“I worry about you Dean. You’re on the front lines and it’s not safe.” Lisa sighed into the phone. “I want you safe and happy. I want you home with me, Dean.”

It was a hit to Dean’s heart, but he had to be honest with her.

“I want to be home with you Lisa, more than you could ever know, but this is what I’m good at, Lisa. Things are fucked up, I’ve seen things that could make a hardened criminal wet himself. I can’t imagine going to college after what I’ve seen, Lis.” Dean told her.

“I love you, Dean Winchester. I want you home in my arms every day of my life, but I refuse to hold you back.” Lisa said, Dean could hear her voice break and knew she was crying. “If this is what you’re good at and you aren’t ready to be a civilian again, than I will support you until you’re ready to be a civilian again.”

“I love you so much, Lisa. Thank you.” Dean whispered.

He knew he was going to do another four years.

Sam was one of the most successful juniors in the history of Lincoln High School. He was the captain of the Varsity soccer team, junior class president and the president of GSA. Mary couldn’t be more proud of her son if she tried. Sam was happy in ways he didn’t think he’d ever achieve. He had a boyfriend, Daniel May, he was getting amazing grades and he was a respected member of his community. Not everyone liked Sam and he understood that, he got that not everyone is going to like him and some of their reasons are gonna be fucking stupid, but he refused to let it bother him.

Sam was making straight A’s and Mary knew her son was going to go far in life. She pictured him as a doctor or a lawyer, someone successful and doing well financially. So, when Sam announced what he wanted to do with his life, Mary was very surprised.

“A teacher?” She repeated.

“Yeah, a teacher.” Sam beamed.

“Sam, why would you want to be a teacher? I mean, it’s a respectable profession but you’re so smart and driven, you could do anything!” Mary exclaimed.

“I know I could do anything, Mom, and **that** is why I want to be a teacher.” Sam stated.

“Sam, honey, you lost me.” Mary told him.

“I’m smart, I know that, but I know how to pass on knowledge and lessons and stand up for what’s right and there aren’t enough teachers like that out there. Kids need role models who aren’t there for the money.” Sam began. “Teaching doesn’t make a ton of money, but I don’t want to be someone who choses their job based on the salary.”

“Sam, that is very honorable, but money means a lot more than I wanted you to know when you were a kid. Money leads to just about everything, honey, and you **deserve** everything.” Mary cooed, caressing Sam’s cheek.

“I know that, Mom, but this is my choice. And I’m going to stand by it.” Sam told her firmly.

Sam graduated as Valedictorian and was accepted into Stanford with a full ride, much to Mary’s pride and Sam’s disbelief. Leaving Sioux Falls for Palo Alto was an experience that involved more tears than Sam would like to admit. He had grown up in Sioux Falls and now he was trading his small town in South Dakota for a college town in California. Mary made sure his dorm was nice and promised to send care packages whenever she could and swore she’d miss him every day.

When Sam left, it caused a problem for Mary, because without Sam to focus on she began to think about Dean. She wanted to know what happened to her oldest son so badly it hurt. She began to feel guilty for not fighting harder for Dean, something she swore she stopped feeling guilty about years ago. Mary couldn’t help herself, she looked up John Winchester.

John Winchester was now living in an auto shop he ran. He has a criminal record for DWI, public intoxication, assault, and assault with a deadly weapon. All of it struck a cord with Mary, but she didn’t see anything about Dean and it began to worry her until she dug deep enough to find Dean’s records. He did amazing in school, was smart and wise, teachers reported bruises and flinching at loud noises, recoiling from touch and social isolation. Mary felt ill at the idea of what could possibly happen to Dean to make him act like that and she bawled when she found out that Dean is a combat solider in Afghanistan.

Dean hadn’t seen Lisa in person for thirteen months, so when he landed in the airport and saw Lisa holding a sign with his name on it and waiting for him, he ran to her. Their reunion was sappy and looked like it was taken straight out of a rom-com but the couple was just so happy to be reunited that they didn’t care.

“I missed you so bad, Dean.” Lisa breathed into Dean’s ear, her arms locked around his neck.

“I missed you too, baby.” Dean told her, kissing the side of her face, holding her tight.

They went home and ate lasagna Lisa’s mom made for them. Dean outright moaned and told her it was the best thing he’s eaten in months.

“It’s been too long since I’ve had a homemade meal.” He stated.

After two days of leave, Lisa finally asked what Dean decided.

“De, are you gonna do another four years?” Lisa asked one night as they cuddled on the couch.

“Yeah, I am.” Dean told her.

Lisa could hear the sadness in his voice, but she didn’t need to hear it to know that Dean wanted so **badly** to stay here with her, he wasn’t ready to come back for good.

“Okay.” She said simply and kissed him.

Dean had his first legal drink before he went back to Afghanistan.

Two years would pass before anything noteworthy happened to either of them again. At age twenty-three Dean proposed to Lisa and they married a year later when Dean was twenty-four. Dean had served six years in the army and was a married man now, but when he had free time on base and couldn’t call Lisa, Dean found himself building things. With the army’s blessing, Dean started taking classes online to become an engineer, but the classes came second to his job and that was okay.

Twenty year old Sam was doing great in Stanford, passing all his classes and really loving school when he met Nick Jamerson. For the summer, Sam was one of the kids earning a teaching degree lucky enough to be picked to intern at a year around private school. Nick Jamerson left an imprint on Sam’s life in ways he had never considered before. Nick was disabled, and he was the first disabled person Sam had ever met.

Half of Nick’s left leg wasn’t there and neither was his right foot. He had prosthetics, but things were different for Nick. It was a private school that Sam interned at, but he got to see the real struggles Nick faced. He couldn’t participate in gym because his prosthetics weren’t made for exercising, they were made for everyday were. Nick walked a little funny and some of the other kids made fun of him for it. Sam was still adjusting to being around a disabled person when he attended a parent teacher conference and met Bailey Little’s mother, a single mother who was paralyzed from the waist down.

Sam was forced to take a step back and realize that people with disabilities face a lot of obstacles and able bodied people didn’t do enough to help.

Two years later Sam earned his bachelor’s degree in teaching at age twenty-two and decided to get his masters before taking up teaching. Mary was so proud of her son that she got teary at his graduation. Sam decided to get his master’s degree at a less expensive school and switched to Berkley for his master’s degree.

Twenty-six year old Dean had served eight years in the military and was signing up to do another four with Lisa’s blessing. He was working his way up and soon he’d be an officer. He was halfway through with his classes to become an engineer and Lisa was very proud of Dean. Dean still talked to Lisa whenever he could, but it was a bit more painful to be apart from her than it was from before they were married. Dean had made a lifelong commitment to Lisa and here he was in another continent while she’s home alone.

Dean was only twenty-six when he was informed that John Winchester died. John had been in a bar brawl and was hit in the back of the head with a stool. He hit his head again on the way down and died. Despite everything John ever did to Dean, all the pain and suffering John caused, Dean mourned his father. He was allowed to go back to the states for the funeral, but Dean decided against it. The only people who’d be there were bar buddies and colleagues from work, Dean didn’t want to mourn in front of them.

At twenty-four Sam got his master’s degree and was quickly scooped up by Washington Middle School. Sam got along well enough with his students, but he had wanted to work with kids younger than this, but he decided to spend a bit more time teaching middle school before he made any big changes. Mary still thought Sam could do more, that he had more potential, but she no longer voiced her opinions. Despite thinking Sam could do better, Mary was very proud of him.

Teaching wasn’t an easy job, the pay was shitty and most of the time the children didn’t thank you for all you did for them, but it was still rewarding. Sam was good at what he did, he really was.

At twenty-eight Dean found out he was going to be a dad. Lisa’s due date was just after Dean’s twenty-ninth birthday and they were excited. Dean was very excited, but also really nervous. What if he wasn’t a good father? What if he fucked up? What if his kid hates him?

The sheer number of scenarios that Dean could think of where he had gone wrong was unsettling, but he was excited to become a father. Everyone was excited for him and Lisa was happy that they would get a bundle of joy soon.

At twenty-nine Dean became a father to Benjamin Deacon Winchester. Lisa and Dean had picked the name Benjamin together and Dean had forbid Lisa from giving him the middle name Dean, but she found a loophole and stuck their son with the middle name Deacon. Baby Ben was the perfect mixture of his parents and Dean found himself wanting desperately to hold his son tight. Ben was two weeks old when Dean came home for leave and Dean spent most of his leave curled up with Ben and Lisa.

Dean did all the midnight diaper changes and would sooth Lisa awake for the late night feedings Ben needed. In short, Dean was the perfect father because this was his only chance to do this with Ben. When Dean had to go back to Afghanistan it was the worst feeling in the world, they all cried and Dean felt guilty the whole way back.

At twenty-five, Sam was the best teacher he could be. He worked hard and got some of the best test results in the state for his hard work. His kids loved him and he managed to keep the class fun. Sam was doing well in adulthood, it suited him. As for Mary, she found out about John three years after the fact and she hurt for Dean. She wondered how badly he was hurting, if he was still grieving and she couldn’t help herself, she looked up Dean again. This time, Mary found a marriage license and an article from a newspaper in Indiana about the marriage of Yoga Studio owner Lisa Braedon and Army Officer Dean Winchester. The newest thing with Dean’s name on it was a birth certificate, the birth certificate of Lisa and Dean’s son, Ben. Mary was so overwhelmed; she had to talk to someone.

“Mary, you broke into government databases to find out about Dean?!” Bobby gaped.

“Hey, don’t judge me.” She huffed. “I had to know if my son was okay, Bobby.”

“Why not try going to his home town, talking to people there and asking about him?” Bobby questioned.

“Because it would seem creepy! Some strange lady that no one has seen before asking about a combat officer stationed in Afghanistan? Someone would end up reporting it.” Mary defended herself. “Besides, that isn’t the point; the point is that I’m a **grandmother** , Bobby!”

“Yeah, Mary, you are.” Bobby sighed, smiling at her

“Oh Bobby, I can just picture him. I bet he looks so much like Dean did at that age, with the chubby cheek and little beer belly and oddly fat toes. I bet he was born with a full head of hair, just like Dean was.” Mary daydreamed out loud, her eyes far away.

“Mary, you really should try to get in contact with him.” Bobby said softly.

“Bobby, no.” She hissed.

At twenty-six Sam didn’t have time for a relationship. It drove his family up a wall, they said he was a good teacher but maybe he was too dedicated. They said he “deserves to be happy”, like dedicating his time to the next generation and kids that needed him didn’t make him happy. Honestly, working with these kids **did** make Sam happy, it made him feel so good about himself. Things were going amazing for Sam in every aspect of his life besides his social life and love life, but he didn’t care. Sam was happy.

At thirty, Dean’s life hit the fan. A bomb went off and took half of Dean’s men and his legs with it. Dean’s nerves connected to his legs were fried, but it took a lot of drugs to stop Dean from fighting. He’d been calling out for his men, screaming in horror of what he saw. Dean distinctly remembers seeing one of his legs as he laid on the ground and thinking “why is it over there” before realizing it wasn’t attached to him anymore. He’d been screaming in hysteria when he and the survivors were rescued.

When Dean came home to the states he was confined to a wheelchair and Lisa had installed wheelchair ramps all over the house and even an elevator for him to get to the second floor. Dean had been so overwhelmed when he saw it that he cried and yelled and held Lisa in his arms for hours, having her whisper to him that he was still the man she loved, that he was not less of a man due to his lack of legs. The first few months were a nightmare for Dean, but Lisa was amazing and didn’t let him feel alone and constantly reminded him that he was loved, that he was enough, that he was the love of her life and that made things okay.

At thirty-one Dean became a father for the second time to Matthew Alfie Winchester, who looked much more like Dean than Lisa. Ben was two and skeptical at first of the idea of a little brother, but warmed up to the idea quickly. By the time Matthew was born their house was more wheelchair friendly and Dean was much more used to being handicapable than he was when he first came back. Lisa’s yoga studio was doing amazingly well, which helped because Dean was looking into what to do with his life. Being an engineer in his state would be very difficult, so he began looking at different things he could do for an occupation.

Things were going surprisingly well for Dean and he was writing in a diary for therapy. He talked about everything that has happened to him. The abuse, the war, his lies, the attack in which he lost his legs. His diary was a safe place and a tell all. Writing was something freeing for Dean and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t need it.

Twenty-seven year old Sam decided to do one more year at Washington Middle School and then he’d leave for an elementary school. He wasn’t sure yet which grade he wanted to teach, but he wanted to teach younger kids, so he had more of an impact on their development. Sam wanted to be there when the kids were just turning old enough to hear the words “you cannot”, so he could be the one to say “yes you can”. Washington Middle knew they were losing a great teacher and tried to persuade him to stay, but his mind was made up.

At twenty-eight Sam transferred to Bakersfield Elementary school and began working as a third grade teacher. He liked third grade much better than seventh, but he still wanted to work with kids a bit younger. His kids loved him, they loved that he could do accents, that when they did group reading he encouraged the kids to talk in a voice they think the character would talk in. They liked that Sam was lively and never discouraged them from doing harmless things even if they weren’t classy or societal norms.

Thirty-two was the worst year Dean Winchester ever experienced. It all began when Lisa went out to her sister’s bachelorette party and Dean stayed home with their sons. While Dean and the kids were fast asleep, Lisa was driving home with one of the other bride’s maids who lived nearby. Lisa was tipsy, but the other girl, the driver, was completely sober and was shocked when a drunk driver came out of nowhere and hit them. The passenger side of the car, where Lisa was, was hit and she died on the way to the hospital. The driver was paralyzed from the neck down and the drunk driver died on impact.

Dean thought he was going to die. He didn’t think he was going to be able to make it without Lisa. She was his partner in crime, she made things easier to swallow, she made him feel like he still mattered. His sons were too young to understand that mommy was dead and that’s why she’s never coming back, but it destroyed Dean. By the time Dean was thirty-three he had found a nice house that he could afford that had wheelchair ramps and an elevator to the second floor within his budget in Bakersfield, California and moved there with his sons.

He sold Lisa’s studio to the highest bidder and waited almost a year before cashing in Lisa’s life insurance. There had been tears when Dean received the money and he had felt guilty beyond belief. When Dean’s new therapist read his diary, they suggested he think about writing a book about everything he’s lived through and Dean decided to consider it.

At twenty-nine Sam had found inner peace as a first grade teacher. It was perfect age for him to work with and the kids **loved** Sam wholeheartedly. Mary saw Sam as often as she could, but with Sam’s busy schedule it was hard sometimes and Mary was starting to frequent bars more than anywhere else. Mary began considering digging into Dean’s life again, but Bobby did before her and told her that her son became a widower.

Mary’s heart had broken for Dean and she could only imagine the pain. According to Bobby, Dean was a single father to two sons now, with no wife to help him and was mostly living off her insurance and his disability checks at the moment. Mary really wanted to dig and meet Dean but this time, it was Bobby who stopped her.

“Don’t you dare go in there and fuck with his life, Campbell.” Bobby growled. “His wife is dead, his father is dead, he’s a veteran and he has too damn much on his plate. He lost limbs in war, Mary, he does not want you to see him like this if he wants to see you at all. Respect him, damn it.”

So she did.

At thirty, Sam was loving his life more than he ever had but was starting to feel lonely. It was still hard for Sam to meet men, but now it was bothering Sam more than usual. He wanted someone to be intimate with in ways besides sex and he wanted sex to be more than a one night stand.

At age thirty-four Dean’s first novel was published and flying off the shelves so fast it surprised him. Ben had started Kindergarten and didn’t realize that his dad had published a book discussing his experiences with physical, psychological and sexual abuse and war. With the success of his first book, Dean decided to write a children’s book following two werewolf brothers named Deacon and Alfie who had to hide their identity from the world. The children’s book turned out to be a children’s novel called **Moonrise Secrets** which Dean planned to follow up with a sequel. The children’s book was also immensely popular and his own sons loved the book.

Matt had started pre-school after Ben started kindergarten, which both kids loved. Dean’s sons were very smart but starting kindergarten meant for Ben that he found out that not everyone had a dad in a wheelchair. When Ben came home and asked about it for the first time, Dean hadn’t been expecting it.

“Daddy, why aren’t the other kids daddies in wheelchairs too?” Ben asked during dinner one night, shoveling a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth as he asked.

Dean spluttered, gaping at his sons stupidly. The question had caught him off guard, and Matthew, who had apparently picked up on this too, looked at him curiously.

“Well guys, wheelchairs are made for people who can’t walk anymore, that’s why I have one. Some people can’t walk anymore or never could, so they’re in wheelchairs.” Dean tried to explain.

“It’s not a daddy thing?” Matt asked, cocking his head to the side like a puppy.

“No, buddy, it isn’t a daddy thing.” Dean said with a sad smile.

“Oh, okay.” Ben shrugged and went back to eating.

At thirty-five Dean thought his life couldn’t change any more than it already had. He was proven wrong the day Ben missed his bus home and used the school phone to call Dean.

“Hello?” Dean said, picking up the phone.

“Daddy? It’s Ben, I missed my bus.” There was a sniffle on the other end of line and Dean knew he was crying.

“Hey, hey, hey, why are you crying, buddy?” Dean asked softly.

“I missed the bus.” Ben whimpered into the phone.

“That’s okay baby, I’ll come and get you right away.” Dean cooed into the phone.

“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Ben whispered.

“Don’t be, I’m on my way.” Dean said in a soothing tone.

When Ben hung up Dean got into his car as fast as he could and drove to Bakersfield Elementary School. Dean’s car was meant for someone like him and he was able to get in and out of his car quite easily. Dean pulled into the parking lot and rolled himself out of the car and into the school. As Dean rolled into the office, he saw Ben sitting in the office next to a very handsome man. If it were any other situation, Dean might have flirted with the guy, but now wasn’t the time.

“Daddy!” Ben cried out, sounding and looking relieved as he threw himself at his father.

When Sam Winchester found Ben Winchester, one of his new students, sniffling in the hallway he hadn’t expected it to be because the little boy had missed his bus, but he walked Ben to the office and helped him call his father. Once Ben got off the phone he had announced his daddy was coming to get him. As Sam waited for Mr. Winchester to arrive, he’d begin to wonder why Ben’s parents were the only ones that hadn’t gone to the school open house in the summer and why Ben never talked about his mother. Any reasons Sam had made up in his head were knocked away when a man in a wheelchair rolled into the office and his student threw himself into the man’s lap and snuggled up to him.

The man was stunning and his arms fit perfectly around Ben.

“Hey buddy, you ready to go?” The man asked.

“Uh huh!” Ben nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you for waiting with me, Mr. Campbell!”

Sam was caught off guard when the six year old thanked Sam for waiting with him and Mr. Winchester’s eyes finally hit Sam.

“You’re Mr. Campbell, Ben’s teacher?” Mr. Winchester asked.

Sam nodded dumbly, not trusting himself to speak as he was too distracted by Mr. Winchester’s sexy, big, callused hands and muscular arms.

“I’m Dean Winchester, Ben’s father, it’s nice to meet you.” Mr. Winchester said, sticking a hand out for Sam to shake.

“Sam Campbell, it’s nice to meet you too.” Sam nodded.

“Daddy, where’s Matt?” Ben asked, looking up at his father expectantly.

“He’s still at day-care buddy, I didn’t have time to pick Matt up before I got you.” Dean explained easily

Apparently that’s all it took to bring Sam back to reality and remind himself that the beautiful man in front of him was the parent of one of his students, more than likely a heterosexual, married man.

“Well, thanks for keeping Ben company, Sam. You have a good night.” Dean told him with a smile before rolling off with Ben perched on his lap. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand people are not happy with me updating my Supernatural stories less than they'd like and I'm sorry that it upsets you but I've just been very busy and lately it's been easier for me to write Avengers. I'll write when I can but I've never been very frequent. Enjoy friends.

Sam found himself surprised that he couldn’t get Dean Winchester out of his head for a week. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was just for his spank bank, but he couldn’t get the guy out of his head for reasons besides little Sam.

Whenever he could, Sam listened closely to Ben Winchester talk about his home life and Sam learned a lot. Ben liked it when his dad read him bedtime stories, once a week they had tacos, Ben had a four year old brother named Matt, Dean Winchester works from home and Ben thought all dads were supposed to be in wheelchairs up until last year.

Not once did Sam hear Ben mention his mom and after two weeks of feeling like a creeper for ease dropping on a six year old, Sam asked the little boy about his mother during recess.

“Ben, can I talk to you at the beginning of recess?” Sam asked softly.

“Am I in trouble?” The little boy demanded.

“No, I just need to talk to you.” Sam chuckled at the response he got.

“Oh okay.” Ben nodded before trotting away.

When recess rolled around, Ben came and found him on the playground and followed Sam to the deserted picnic tables and sat across from Sam.

“Ben, I’ve noticed you don’t talk about your mom, why?” Sam asked.

Ben cocked his head to the side, looking confused and a little frustrated.

“Why would I talk about Mommy?” The little boy questioned.

“Because she’s your mom, you talk about your dad a lot, why not your mom?” Sam pushed gently.

“Mommy’s dead.” Ben shrugged.

Sam’s questions came to a halt and Sam’s brain began to process the information. The first thing Sam did, was soften his face and give the boy a sad smile.

“I’m so sorry, Ben.” Sam said sincerely.

“Mommy’s been gone a long time, Mr. Campbell, it’s okay.” Ben reassured his teacher.

“Just because it happened a long time ago doesn’t stop it from being sad.” Sam informed the child.

Ben nodded and stared at the ground.

“I don’t remember Mommy much, I was only three when she died.” Ben murmured. “We lived in Indiana before we lived here. Mommy was in a car crash and Daddy couldn’t stay in Indiana anymore. We moved here and we got a new house and Daddy was sad for a long time, but he spent more time with Matty and I and writing. Sometimes when Daddy writes he gets weird and we’re supposed to leave him alone unless we need his help or need him to take a break, then we say hippo-pot-amus if we need his help and T-rex if we need him to take a break.”

Sam absorbed the information and allowed his student to ramble on. He informed Sam that his dad couldn’t walk, told Sam that he didn’t know that’s why his dad was in a wheelchair until last year. Ben and Matt thought wheelchairs were something all dads used until last year when they started going to school and pre-school.

“Daddy used to be in the army. Last month I found pictures of Daddy wearing an army uniform and that’s when he told us.” Ben said, his eyes far away. “It’s weird, Mr. Campbell, Daddy didn’t look that much different in the pictures from how he does now. Now he just doesn’t have legs.”

Ben rambled on about the pictures of his dad and Sam’s hear clenched.  Dean Winchester must have lost his legs fighting for the U.S. Army only to come home and loose his wife. It took Sam a second to realize it, but Ben was crying.

“Ben, are you okay, buddy?” Sam asked softly.

“I-I don’t wanna t-talk about this anymore.” Ben whimpered, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Do you want me to call your dad?” Sam offered.

The little boy nodded his head, sniffling and crying on the playground like someone kicked his puppy. Sam got another teacher to watch his class while he went inside to call Ben’s dad.

“Hello?” A gruff voice answered on the other line.

“Hi, this is Sam Campbell, Ben Winchester’s teacher.” Sam said awkwardly.

“Oh, hi Mr. Campbell, is everything okay?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Ben’s very upset right now. He was telling me about why he never talks about his mom and he started rambling and I think it’s best if he takes the day off.” Sam told the man as gently as possible.

“Fuck, how bad is he crying?” Dean demanded.

Sam heard the sound of keys and things being moved, a door clicked and Sam figured Dean would be on his way soon.

“He had just started crying when I noticed.” Sam admitted.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon. A day off will do him good.” Dean muttered.

Fifteen minutes later Ben left. When Ben got to the office he was expecting his dad, but not Matt. Matt was standing next to Dean’s wheelchair, allowing the office ladies to coo over how cute he is and offer him candy.

“Daddy, Matty!” Ben beamed.

“Hey kiddo, you ready to go?” Dean asked, smiling sadly.

Before Ben could answer, Matt lunged himself at his big brother.

“Ben!” The youngest Winchester cheered, wrapping his chubby little arms around his big brother’s neck.

“I’m ready to go, Daddy.” Ben giggled, hugging Matt back.

Once the kids were buckled into their booster seats, Dean started asking Ben about what happened.

“What happened today, Benny?” Dean asked softly.

“Mr. Campbell was worried because I don’t talk about Mommy, so he asked me if everything was okay with her.” Ben began, frowning deeply. “But once I started talking, Daddy, I couldn’t stop. It made me sad.”

“It made you sad?” Dean repeated.

“Yeah, we talked about sad things so it made me sad.” Ben nodded.

“What sad things did you talk about?” Dean prompted.

“Indiana, Mommy, the army.”

“The army?” Dean questioned.

“You were in the army Daddy, but you never smile when you talk about it like Laney’s mommy does.” Ben informed his father like it was the simplest thing ever. “Something bad must have happened.”

“Did someone steal your cookies?” Matt asked.

Dean really wanted to laugh at that moment because of Matt’s lisp it sounded like he said “tookies” instead of “cookies”.

“No, buddy, no one stole my cookies.” Dean reassured his youngest.

“Did someone say something mean?” Ben asked.

“No.”

“Did you have an accident like I did at daycare?” Ben asked, referring to wetting himself during naptime.

“Nope.”

“What happened, Daddy?” Ben asked cautiously.

“I lost my legs.” Dean said hesitantly.

Ben frowned and ducked his head down, a flash of guilt danced across Ben’s face and Dean frowned.

“Hey, it’s okay Ben. It’s normal for you to be curious.” Dean soothed.

“But I made you talk about something sad.” Ben pointed out.

“I know that buddy, but talking about things that make you sad is part of life.” Dean explained.

“That’s stinks! It’s not fair and it stinks!” Ben huffed angrily, making Dean chuckle.

“You’re right, it isn’t fair and it does stink, but life isn’t fair and we just have to deal with it sometimes.” Dean sighed with a sad smile.

“Daddy, we should get ice cream!” Matt exclaimed.

“Oh yeah? Why?” Dean asked with an amused grin.

“Because whenever I’m sad you give me ice cream. You’re sad so you should have ice cream, Daddy.” Matt said simply, shrugging his little shoulders with pure innocence.

Dean couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do at this moment. Back at school Sam was still feeling guilty for what happened with Ben while still letting the information he gained today set. The most beautiful man Sam had ever met was an Army veteran, disabled, a widower, a writer and the father to two boys. Thinking about Dean Winchester made Sam feel like a stupid middle schooler with his first crush all over again. That night Sam went to dinner with his mom and Mary picked up on her son’s weird behavior right away.

“What’s up, Sammy?” She asked as she set down her glass of water.

“It’s nothing Mom, don’t worry about it.” Sam waved it off.

“No, tell me what’s up.” She commanded, giving her best stern expression.

“One of my students has a really hot dad.” Sam blurted out.

“Oh really?” She smirked. “Tell me more.”

“He’s beautiful, Mom, you wouldn’t believe how damn beautiful he is. He’s a veteran and he has the cutest freckles all over his face and you should see him with his kids. Oh, they’re all over him and he’s so animated and lively with them, he’s such a good dad and ugh, his hands! Mom, his hands are… oh those hands…” Sam trailed off.

“Ask him out, Sammy, he sounds like a real catch.” She suggested, smacking his arm gently.

“No way, he’s a student’s parent, it has to be against the rules or something.” He sighed, pouting.

“You know, some rules are meant for breaking.” She stage whispered.

“Yeah, when you’re a teenager, not an adult.” Sam sighed.

“No, Baby, adults aren’t perfect and they break rules too, you know that. Just look at me and Bobby if you need reminders that adults aren’t always role models.”

“I can’t ask him out right now, Mom. Even if he wasn’t my student’s father, he only lost his wife five years ago and I don’t even know if he likes boys and I don’t feel like accidently hitting on a homophobe.”

“Don’t worry, Sammy, you’ll figure it out.” She told him reassuringly.

Back at home the man they were discussing was curled up on his couch with a child on each side, snuggled up to their father. The TV was playing Finding Nemo and his sons’ tummies were full and they were content, Matt was drifting to sleep as the clock ticked closer and closer to eight and Ben was fighting to keep his eyes open.

“Benny, Matty, it’s time for bed guys.” Dean cooed, getting into his chair before pulling both of his sons onto his lap.

“Carry us to bed?” Ben asked sleepily.

Dean already knew his kids would ask and was already making his way to the elevator. Matt was already asleep when Dean placed his youngest in his race car bed and tucked him in. Ben was groggily blinking as Dean tucked him into his rocket ship bed.

“Daddy, can you tell me about Mommy?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“Of course, Baby. What do you want to know?” Dean asked.

It still hurt to talk about Lisa, but the time for selfishness was over. His son wanted to talk about the mother he lost and Dean would be the world’s biggest asshole if he said no just to protect his own feelings. Times like these are when he’s reminded of just how much freedom you throw away when you become a parent.

“Anything.” Ben whispered.

“Her name was Lisa and she loved you and your brother very, very much.” Dean began. “Mommy married me even though I wasn’t home a lot, I was in another country fighting a war. She was very smart and liked to do sports and go outside. She wasn’t a very good cook and she didn’t like to clean, but she loved to play with you. Mommy had lots of family who still want to see you one day. Mommy had long black hair and a nose like yours, Buddy.”

“Mommy sounds beautiful.” Ben yawned.

“She was.” Dean smiled sadly.


	4. Chapter 4

A week after making Ben Winchester cry, Sam was passing the YMCA after school program on his way out and noticed Ben Winchester playing on the floor. He couldn’t help himself and went over to see what his student was doing.

“Hey Ben. I thought you took the bus home, buddy.” Sam said.

“I do most days, but today Daddy has therapy.” Ben shrugged, playing with his hot wheels. “Matty stays at pre-school and Daddy will pick us up and take us home later.”

Sam nodded, it was understandable for a disabled veteran to have therapy. Sam should have figured Dean left his kids somewhere when he went to therapy, it’s not like the man has a wife to pick them up from school while he goes to therapy. A little voice in the back of Sam’s head says “maybe we could take them home for him, work our way into his life”, but that voice wasn’t being reasonable. It was too inappropriate. He couldn’t.

On the other side of town Dean was in therapy, singing a new tune to his therapist.

“Let me get this straight, you haven’t been on a single date since Lisa’s death and now you have a crush?” Dean’s therapist asked.

“Yes and he’s not just some dude, he’s Ben’s teacher! I can’t have a crush on Ben’s teacher, that’s like really uncool.” Dean groaned.

“Dean, you cannot help who you are attracted to and this isn’t a bad thing.” The doctor said gently. “You’re moving on, Lisa would want you to move on and be happy.”

“What do I do, man? It’s not professional!”

“I know I’m probably not supposed to say this, but fuck being professional! Ask him out, see where this goes. You’ve got an opportunity in front of you and this man will only be Ben’s teacher for another few months! If things work out or don’t you won’t have to deal with the aftermath for long.”

“I just don’t know if this is a good idea. I have kids now, I can’t just drag my children through this shit.”

“He’s good with kids, Dean, he won’t hurt them. Hell, he already has a relationship with Ben and Matt loves everyone Ben likes. You should take this opportunity.”

Dean guessed his therapist did have some points, but he just couldn’t do this to his sons. A relationship would affect how much time he would spend with them, what he did during the weekends; it would be a big change and the kids barley remember Lisa, they have no idea what it’s like to have more than one adult in their day to day routine.

“I just don’t think I can do it, David.” Dean sighed.

“Give it so more thought before you completely abandon the idea, Dean.” David, his therapist, said softly.

Dean sighed and nodded in agreement, and just like that the session was over. Dean got to the elementary school rather quickly and was caught off guard by the sight of Sam Campbell talking to Ben as he played.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Dean muttered to himself. It was like the guy was everywhere he looked, and damn did he look great. Ben looked so happy to be playing with the guy, honestly, his therapist might just have a point.

Ben was playing with his hot wheels and Sam was right next to him with a toy car in hand. As Dean got closer, he heard them imitating car noises and Dean couldn’t help the smile that spread upon his face.

“Hey Ben.” Dean greeted his son.

“Daddy!” Ben cried, flying up from his spot on the floor and at his dad for a hug.

“You have a nice time playing with Mr. Campbell, buddy?” Dean asked.

“Uh huh.” Ben nodded eagerly.

“Did you say thank you?” Dean demanded, tickling his son on the tummy.

Ben let out shriek of delight and squirmed around on Dean’s lap. “Thank you, Mr. Campbell.”

“It was no problem, Ben. Good to see you again, Mr. Winchester.” Sam said.

“Please, it’s Dean.” Dean found himself saying.

“Then you should call me Sam.” Sam grinned flirtatiously.

Dean beamed right back at him and Sam felt like a teenager again, getting noticed by their crush for the first time and running home to tell his mom.

“I have to go pick up my youngest son, but it was good to see you again Sam. I hope to see you soon.” Dean sing-songed with a flirtatious edge.

“Cool.” Sam  breathed.

Dean chuckled as Ben snatched up his hot wheels.

“Bye Mr. Campbell!” Ben called over his shoulder as he followed his daddy out of the building.

Sam watched Dean roll away, his son happily jogging next to him; knowing Ben, no doubt rambling on sweetly about his day. Sam shook his head with a smile firmly in place and went to his car, he had dinner plans with Mary that night.

Across town Mary was shaking in her seat as she stared at the number for a Private Investigator. She knew she didn’t need a PI to find out information about Dean, but the PI would be able to get pictures of her son and grandchildren. Maybe she could even use the pictures to figure out a way to insert herself into Dean’s life. She knew she should but out, but she’s never met her grandsons and she hasn’t seen her eldest son since he was a toddler. She wants back in his life, she wants it so bad she can taste it.

“This is a really bad idea, Mary.” Bobby told her. “A PI is gonna look sketchy and lets pretend you do manage to get back into Dean’s life and he finds out you have a PI stalk him. How’s he gonna feel? Violated. He’s gonna feel violated, Mary.”

“Then how do you suggest I get back in his life, Bobby?” She asked. “This PI could show me pictures, let me understand there routine so one day I could just pop in and make it look like an accident.”

“Mary, you need to let this go.” Was how Bobby responded.

But now here she is, anxiously biting her lip, trying to decide if hiring a PI is the right choice or not. She sighed heavily and pushed herself to her feet.

“Maybe if I just go out to clear my head I’ll figure it out.” She whispered to herself.

She grabbed her car keys and decided to go to the park. The park was a nice place with a great view of the natural scenery and a nice place to sit in read on a bad day. Families ran around the park while a handful of childless individuals such as herself sat around happily absorbing the sunlight and fresh air. She plopped down on a bench with a book and started reading.

Dean pulled up to the parking lot of his kids favorite park.

“We can only stay for an hour guys, than we have to go home for dinner.” Dean reminded his children before allowing them out of the car.

“Okay Daddy!” Ben and Matt chirped before rushing out of the car.

Ben ran straight to the jungle gym while Matt high tailed it to the swing set. Dean rolled up to a picnic table and smiled as he watched his children play. After fifteen minutes, Dean was watching Matt carefully as he started to swing very high. Dean was so caught up in making sure Matt didn’t jump off the swings and hurt himself that he didn’t see Mary.

Mary had been minding her own business when she looked up and did a double take. There, sitting at a picnic table, was Dean. She hadn’t seen him in person since he was just a kid but the last picture she could get her hands on was from only a few years ago. She followed his eyes to a little boy on the swing set, going very high for just a little kid.

If you asked her, Mary would admit she didn’t think when she got up and walked right up to Dean.

“Dean, oh my god, Dean is that you?” Mary asked.

Dean turned to see who was talking to him and openly gaped. As a kid, he’d looked at pictures of his mother every day, wishing she’d come home, he’d know her face anywhere. She had aged, but it was definitely her. It was Mary.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean’s heart was pounding against his rib cage so hard he thought his heart would fly straight out of his chest. There were so many thoughts racing through his mind, he had no idea what to say.

“Mary?” Dean asked, using her first name.

Mary’s smile faltered but she nodded. “Yes, Dean it’s me, it’s Mom.”

“Matt! Ben! We need to go; now!” Dean shouted, his hands shaking and sweating so bad he had trouble getting his wheel chair to move.

“Wait, please don’t go!” She pleaded, reaching out a hand towards him.

Dean flinched back violently, memories of John’s hand snapping out right in front of his face. Dean couldn’t think about anything other than getting out of there.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Ben demanded, running up, his little brother in toe.

“We need to go.” Dean said quickly.

“Dean, please! I just want to talk!” Mary begged, taking a step forward as Dean wheeled himself back.

Ben’s eyes were locked on his father’s face and the first grader could tell his dad was deeply upset. When Ben was younger it seemed like almost everything made his daddy upset, but these days it wasn’t as bad as it used to be. Dean could talk about things he couldn’t before, he still got upset about more things than some other people Ben knew, and Ben hated to see his dad so sad.

“Hey! You leave my daddy alone, you mean lady!” Ben barked, pointing an accusing finger at Mary.

Mary’s eyes widened as what appeared to be her oldest grandson’s extremely protective nature.

“Ben, that’s not polite.” Dean murmured, rolling away towards the car.

The kids were quick to follow, but not before shooting Mary nasty looks over her shoulder. This normally would have been enough to get Mary to back off but not this time; not with her Dean. She chased after them, speaking and not giving him time to talk.

“I’ve missed you so much, Dean. I know I shouldn’t have left you with John, I meant to come back and try to get custody of you again but I couldn’t. I don’t expect your forgiveness, but I never stopped thinking about you. I can’t explain it all to you now and is doesn’t excuse the fact that you grew up without me. I want to talk to you, Dean, I want to get to know you. Please, please don’t go.” She cried.

“I-I can’t right now, I can’t. Please, just leave me alone!” Dean begged, tears spilling out of his beautiful green eyes.

Mary took a step back, her bottom lip quivering and her own eyes teary. “I’m here every Wednesday from 4-7.”

And with that she left, allowing her estranged son to usher his children into his car and take them home. The whole ride home Dean didn’t say a world; music played and the kids talked but Dean stayed silent. Dean was quite even when they got home, and while his sons didn’t fully grasp why, they knew it had something to do with the woman in the park.

When Mary got home, she called Bobby, needing someone to talk to.

“You what?!” Bobby gaped into the phone.

“I swear, it was just a chance meeting. I didn’t know he’d be there, I always go to that park and then suddenly there he was.” She explained.

“So you just went up to him?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah, and I know he recognized me. He started to flee right after that, rounding up his sons and begging me to leave him alone.” She said, wiping at her eyes. “Bobby, you should have fucking seen it. He seemed… scared of me or something.”

“Mary you got no idea what that boy has been through. You could’ve brought up something nasty in that boy’s mind.” Bobby said.

“Oh god.” She whimpered, a sob escaping her throat.

“Breathe Mary.” He ordered.

“I-I need to go. Bye Bobby.” She panted out, hanging up.

That night Dean had the worst nightmares he’s had in years. Vivid flashbacks of the abuse he suffered at the hands of John, the rejection of Mary leaving being the fuel to John’s fire. Ben and Matt didn’t have any nightmares but they climbed into bed with their father to try and comfort him. Dean woke up to Ben curled into his right side and Matty burrowed into his left. Dean couldn’t help but smile softly. He kissed each of his sons on the forehead and skootched himself to the edge of the bed and climbed into his chair. Dean went to the kitchen and made himself a pot of coffee while his sons slept soundly in his bed.

By the time Dean had gotten the kids up and taken Matt to daycare and Ben to school he was calm on the outside about what had happened the day before at the playground. However Ben was still pretty upset about it and his teacher noticed something was wrong almost immediately.

“Hey Ben, you seem down today. What’s wrong buddy?” Sam asked, crouching down next to Ben.

“Some lady was mean to my daddy at the park yesterday.” Ben said with a deep frown.

“Oh yeah? That must have been hard.” Sam said softly.

“It really upset him.” Ben told Sam.

“I’m sorry that happened to you and your dad.” Sam comforted the child.

Ben leaned into Sam’s touch on his shoulder. Dean had tried to comfort the children last night, but it wasn’t enough. Ben was angry about it, he wanted to have the lady go into time out. He still didn’t understand what happened, but his Daddy had been so upset about it.


End file.
